Fernandes apologises for Man Utd embarrassment against Bournemouth

Manchester United’s Portuguese midfielder #08 Bruno Fernandes reacts to their defeat on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Bournemouth at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on December 9, 2023. – Bournemouth won the game 3-0. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

Bruno Fernandes has apologised for Manchester United’s embarrassing defeat against Bournemouth as the Portugal star admitted his side did not have enough effort or quality.

United suffered their first ever home loss to lowly Bournemouth on Saturday as the Cherries swept to a 3-0 shock victory.

Erik ten Hag’s men were so poor that the margin of defeat could have been even more humiliating, but the result was already bad enough to trigger boos from fans at the final whistle.

As the pressure mounts on Ten Hag, United captain Fernandes said the players should take the blame for the miserable performance

“I want to apologise for the performance. It was not acceptable, starting with me. I’m not talking about anyone else,” he said.

“But I think everyone agrees in the dressing room that the performance was (not) at our level and we have to perform much better.

“It was underperforming quality-wise, effort-wise and not as aggressive as we were in the last game against Chelsea.

“If you don’t do your job, you’re not going to win the game.”

Inconsistent United have lost 11 of their 23 matches in all competitions this season.

Ten Hag admitted after the Bournemouth game that he did not believe his squad have the quality to be consistent at the highest level.

Fernandes said he was at a loss to explain why United are unable to maintain a steady run of form.

“I don’t know (why it was so different to Chelsea) but it’s been consistently